Forwards grab headlines, goals and transfers but are managers right to value them above goalkeepers and defenders?
With �160m spent on forwards this transfer window, football has reminded us that strikers are the money men of the English game. Since Trevor Francis became the first �1m centre-forward 30 years ago, prices have soared and Fernando Torres was sold for 50 times that amount.
Maybe it's because I'm a goalkeeper, but it all seems rather staggering. Let's compare prices and positions. When I moved to Liverpool in 1992 for �1.25m it was a joint British transfer record for a keeper at that time. Nineteen years later and that record has only increased sevenfold, with Craig Gordon's �9m move to Sunderland in 2007. Those fees are a world away from how much we pay for strikers. Are they worth it? Too many managers believe that if they spend the money on strikers, results will come. They don't seem to look at the overall setup of the team. Who is going to play the ball through the midfield? Who is going to keep the scoreline in check if there is a poor defence?
Will Darren Bent solve all of Aston Villa's problems? Probably not. As much as I admire him as a player and genuinely like him as a bloke, it is difficult to see how one man is going to fix an entire team. Try telling a manager that. They shell out for forwards as though they are worth their weight in gold. In fact, the amount Chelsea paid for Torres is well over 25 times his weight in gold. He weighs 78kg and you could buy that much gold for a mere �1.4m. The very idea that footballers are so much more expensive than one of the most precious metals in the world is scary.
It's not as if a striker is a long-term investment these days. Gone are the years when a star forward, such as Ian Wright, would have one big move and then stay for years. They seem to move every few seasons, like mercenaries. That might sound harsh, but in football it's always been common knowledge that ? with some exceptions ? strikers are transfer getters as much as they are goal getters. In contrast, Pepe Reina and Petr Cech are two of the best goalkeepers in the world, yet have been at their clubs since 2005 and 2004 respectively. I realise, having played for seven clubs in a career that spans 19 years, that I have not exactly demonstrated the club-for-life ideal myself, but almost all of my transfers have come right at the end of a contract and I can honestly say that big-money moves have not been the driving force of my career.
Goalkeepers and defenders just don't expect to be paid as much. I remember hearing a story about a defender at a top Premier League club whose manager asked him to sign a new contract. The defender asked: "How much is it for, boss?" The manager replied: "You'll find out once you've signed it." And sign it he did. The idea of a striker doing the same thing is absolutely unthinkable. We can't only blame the strikers, though. Clubs are often just as bad, keen to sell them on and attempt to recoup some of their value.
On the whole the pay discrepancy doesn't cause problems in the dressing room. Trouble only starts brewing when a striker is brought in for shedloads of money then doesn't deliver. Worse still, the manager's hand is forced into playing him precisely because they've spent all that money.
With the world in financial meltdown, now would seem a good time for football to do some belt-tightening and rein in the spending. So instead of signing up mega-millionaire strikers, how about investing in better coaching? I haven't heard of many coaches being on more than �100k a year ? that's about �2k a week ? an absolute bargain compared to the cost of players. Think what a difference they could make to the team. I know from my own career what a difference the goalkeeping coaches made at Villa and then Portsmouth.
It would also serve the game well if we could improve the quality of scouting for players. Only the other day I heard about a player being brought into a club on the strength of a YouTube video! There are plenty more horror stories where that one came from. Why is there still so much guesswork involved in football's recruitment processes? Perhaps we could take a leaf out of Billy Beane's Moneyball example and pay more attention to statistics instead of relying so heavily on perception and opinion.
We need someone with common sense to come in and shake up the game. A solid, no-nonsense approach.
David James has donated his fee for this column to charity
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2011/feb/06/david-james-transfer-window
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